Arrest Ends Standoff That Put 4 Bensenville Schools On Lockdown

A man held police at bay in a home in west suburban Bensenville for more than three hours Tuesday before a SWAT team flushed him out with tear gas. (Credit: CBS)

UPDATED 03/13/12 5:13 p.m.

BENSENVILLE, Ill. (CBS) — A man held police at bay in a home in west suburban Bensenville for more than three hours Tuesday before a SWAT team flushed him out with tear gas.

Relatives called police to the home, at 244 S. Mason St., in Bensenville, at about 10:45 a.m., and found them on the front lawn of the home. Police Chief Frank Kosman said that those outside indicated that the man had been “agitated,” although they did not say why he began firing a gun.

Kosman estimated that between seven and 10 shots were fired, several of which struck the home to the north.

That home was evacuated. Kosman said other neighborhood residents were advised to stay inside, and said that the Tioga and Chippewa Schools, less than a block away, were placed on lockdown as a precaution throughout the standoff.

Two other schools within half a mile, the Johnson and Blackhawk Schools, were also placed on lockdown until police determined that the man was acting alone.

Kosman said he immediately called DuPage County Sheriff’s Police, seeking a SWAT team. About 20 officers from the western suburbs responded.

Police set up a perimeter inside of the home as well as cordoning off the neighborhood. He said he and other hostage negotiators spoke periodically with the man until about 2 p.m., attempting to get him to surrender. When the man stopped communicating with police, he said a decision was made to use tear gas.

The tear gas flushed him out, without a gun. Once he was out, he was hosed down by Bensenville firefighters to minimize the effects off the tear gas. He was then transported to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Police found the gun in the upstairs bedroom in which the man had been barricaded.

Kosman said no charges would be filed immediately, pending evaluation of the exam.